1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video-on-demand system using a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
2. Description of the Related Art
A video-on-demand system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,347. According to the known system, a public switched telephone network provides digital video signals from a video information provider to one or more of a plurality of subscriber terminals. Video command signals from a subscriber are transported through a packet switching system to the video information provider and a video program is transmitted over a circuit switching system to the subscriber. To facilitate rewind, fist-forward and still-frame control, a temporary storage is provided in the central offices of the PSTN for storing the video program requested by the subscriber. However, since the location of temporary storage is permanently fixed with respect to the associated program provider, a situation can occur where a large number of wideband transmission links are needed for transmitting a video program to remote subscribers.